PURPOSE: To evaluate pain tolerance as a prodromic symptom in men and women who had a myocardium infarction. METHODS: This was a quantitative-qualitative exploratory study with 43 women and 54 men from a public hospital. Demographic data were analyzed with percentages and qualitative data were analyzed with content analysis according to gender. RESULTS: The men's mean age was 55.3 years. The women's mean age was 61.5 years. Both genders had low educational level and professional inactivity. Men lived with a significant other and had higher family income than women. There was no difference regarding pain tolerance between men and women. Both men and women tried to maintain control over their life and to reproduce social constructions in daily life regarding being male and female. CONCLUSION: Heath care professional actions for the prevention of delaying seeking medical care for coronary perfusion by both male and female is challenging.
Myocardium infarction; Gender identity; Chest pain